gijoefandomcom-20200213-history
A Real American Hero (Sunbow TV series)
Picking up where A Real American Hero and The Revenge of Cobra left off, the 1985 series follows the same premise: G.I. Joe is an elite counter-terrorist unit formed to combat the threat of the evil Cobra Organization. Plots generally centered on a Cobra plot or invention of the week, and the Joes' efforts to stop the plan. The 1986 season introduced a new leader for Cobra, Serpentor. Also brought to light was the leader of G.I. Joe, Hawk, who commanded the Joes in the Marvel Comics series, but had been conspicuously absent in the animated series prior to 1986. Production The first season of G.I. Joe consisted of 55 new episodes, plus reruns of the two earlier 5-part miniseries, for a total of 65 episodes. In the second season there were 30 additional shows, followed by a direct-to-video Movie (aired on TV in five parts). All together, there were 100 Sunbow cartoon episodes (5 + 5 + 55 + 30 + 5), along with five different opening sequences. Writing and distribution for this series were handled as a joint effort by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Productions. Animation was produced overseas, primarily by Toei. The series was animated on an enormously rushed schedule, due to the need to get episodes on the air in sync with the toys appearing on shelves. That, combined with the vast number of characters and the difficulties involved with the overseas animation process, resulted in a cartoon that is notoriously riddled with animation errors and other mistakes. The producers were often aware of these mistakes, but tight deadlines left them no time to correct them. Mistakes or not, the show is fondly remembered by many fans for the high quality of its voice acting. Indeed, many characters, lacking any significant plot developments or screen time, were brought to life solely by their unique voices and inflection styles. Voice direction for the series was provided by Wally Burr, notorious for driving his performers to the limit. In addition to the show's iconic theme song, G.I. Joe featured a great variety of background music, composed by Johnny Douglas and Robert J. Walsh. Douglas composed music for the first two G.I. Joe miniseries, which was recycled and used throughout the entire series. Walsh's compositions were the more generic sounding of the two, and were composed for use in both G.I. Joe and The Transformers. Plot points While the comic focused on military intrigue, the cartoons took a high-tech approach to the series. This was in part necessary because censors preferred laser weapons to bullets. Fully sixty percent of each seasons' episodes had a significant science-fiction angle (40 for season 1, 23 for season 2). Nearly a third of the remaining shows dealt with the paranormal, from ghosts and ESP to apemen and UFOs. For those who like their animation more down-to-earth, here are the most "realistic" episodes: Many of the shows were character-driven and fleshed out one or two individuals. This was more the case in the second season than the first, but season 1 had special episodes devoted to characters such as Ace, Barbecue, Dusty, Lady Jaye, Roadblock, Shipwreck, and Wild Bill. It was the strength of these and other personalities that drew many collectors into the G.I. Joe phenomenon. The skill of the creators is evident in that often there was no specific line or scene that stood out, but the character's whole demeanor and how everything about that Joe or Cobra fit together into an interesting package. Even some of the "lesser lights" managed to establish themselves in their few scenes. Characters In the first season, the Joe team had 44 figure-based members and 4 animal sidekicks, along with cartoon-exclusive characters. This number includes all the individuals released through 1985, with the exceptions of Colonel Hawk, Crankcase, and Keel-Haul. Those 48, plus Crankcase and the non-figure Sparks, are the "roughly fifty" active Joes mentioned in Worlds Without End I. Colonel Sharp and Admiral Ledger are also considered Joes by many viewers but are not officially part of the team. The second season saw the introduction of 15 more (counting Crankcase), with nine others appearing only in the movie. As for Cobra, there were 15 individual Cobras in the first season, plus 10 figure-based troop types. (A.V.A.C.s appeared early, and Stinger Drivers did not appear at all.) The second season gave us six more individuals and four more kinds of soldiers, not counting cartoon exclusives or the Cobra-La team of the Movie. For both Joes and Cobras, the creators evidently tried to spotlight the newer characters while still giving decent attention to the older ones, especially in the first season. Neglected, however, are most Joes from 1982, who received most of their screen time in the two miniseries that preceded the regular run of the show. In addition, about half the vehicle drivers got the short end of the stick when it came to speaking roles. But it is remarkable that even the less-featured characters had distinct personalities and gained the affection of fans through their occasional appearances. In the following table, characters are grouped by the year their first figures were released and the total number of lines they spoke in the cartoon series. The number of 22-minute episodes in which each character appeared is in parentheses: For complete detailed information on line counts, appearances and speaking roles, see List of Sunbow appearances. Episodes Season 1: 1985-1986 Season 2: 1986-1987 One distinguishing characteristic of toy-based cartoon series are that each season, the creators must adapt the show to suit the year's new releases. For some cartoons, the differences might be fairly minor: introduce a couple new villains in one episode, or give the main character a new look. But in 1986, both G.I. Joe and the Transformers went through drastic changes. Each series received new leaders for both sides, necessitating a whole new command structure. For G.I. Joe, the new season also meant a build-up to the upcoming Movie. Whereas The Transformers: The Movie had killed off many of the older Autobots and Decepticons , all the Joes and Cobras were still alive. But many of 1986's toys were essentially replacements of figures and vehicles no longer in the stores, and so the older stuff was fated to recede into the background. In addition, Sunbow was having to direct much of its attention to the Movie, so the Joe series episodes sank a bit in objective quality. Plots weren't as tight, dialogue wasn't as snappy, and the animation suffered the most. Nevertheless, the second season introduced some of Joe's most memorable characters, and it managed to put the spotlight on all the new Joes and equipment by the season's end. It is with regard to character appearances that the two seasons of G.I. Joe stand in highest contrast. While the second-season premiere and a few other episodes featured cameos of older Joes, much of the series focused almost exclusively on the newer characters. Even major figures such as Bazooka, the Baroness, and the Crimson Twins took a back seat to Hawk, Serpentor, and their new recruits. Some viewers think less of the second season because of its almost exclusive focus on the new team members, but the writers' decision actually helped provide balance to the series when taken as a whole. The older figures had the opportunity to appear in 90 to 100 episodes, but those introduced in 1986 had only 35 episodes maximum, counting the movie. In all fairness, the '86-ers dominated the later episodes no more than the pre-1985 characters dominated early first-season episodes. Vehicle changes were noticeable too, since the new 1986 equipment served the same function as the established vehicles. SkyStrikers, Dragonflies, and Rattlers gave way to Conquests, Tomahawks, and Night Ravens. Dreadnok Swampfires replaced the seldom-used Chameleons. Maulers and H.I.S.S. tanks remained alongside the H.A.V.O.C.s and Stuns, but the old M.O.B.A.T.s and Wolverines were almost nowhere to be seen. Firebats were also frequent, but they had been introduced in the first season in a grey color. Appearance notes * Most of the characters got their first lines in one of the five-part miniseries, but there are some exceptions: ** "Cobra Sound Waves" introduced Wild Weasel and gave Grunt his first line. ** Deep Six debuted in "Cobra Stops the World." ** We first hear Copperhead in "Jungle Trap." (He can be glimpsed in the opening sequence of The Revenge of Cobra using frame-by-frame.) ** Thunder's first lines come in his biggest single episode, "Battle for the Train of Gold." ** The Tele-Vipers first spoke in "Lights! Camera! Cobra!" ** "The Phantom Brigade" gave us A.V.A.C.s half a year early, and also gave the Eels something to say. ** For a carded figure, Barbecue went an awful long time without saying anything. He finally got his chance in "The Greenhouse Effect." ** "Eau de Cobra" gives us Frostbite's only lines. ** Heavy Metal's only speaking role came in "Pit of Vipers." * Fifteen figures who had previously appeared on the cartoon were totally absent from the second season: Flash, Grunt, Short-Fuze, Clutch, Grand Slam, Steeler, Zap, Airborne, Tripwire, Frostbite, Tollbooth, H.I.S.S. Driver, Viper Pilot, Copperhead, and Lamprey. Nine of these returned in the Movie. * Thirteen other figures who had previously spoken on the cartoon were silent in the second season: Breaker, Rock 'n Roll, Stalker, Ace, Blowtorch, Rip Cord, Spirit, Airtight, Barbecue, Bazooka, Footloose, Quick Kick, and Major Bludd. All of these appeared in the Movie, but only Bazooka and Quick Kick spoke. * Other prominent characters who dropped to the background in Season 2: Alpine got only 6 lines, Mutt 4, Storm Shadow 2 and some fighting noises, Wild Bill 7, and Cover Girl 5. In addition, Doc, Recondo, and Dusty each only spoke in one episode of "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" and were silent until the end of the season. * Two older characters actually got a boost in the second season. Ripper and Zartan had around a third of their lines in season-2 episodes. Deep Six, Roadblock, and Torch had about the same proportion of lines in each season; the rest declined. * Interesting disappearances in the second season: Duke went fifteen episodes in a row without speaking, Polly dropped out completely after "Glamour Girls", and Tomax and Xamot did not appear during the nineteen episodes between "The Million Dollar Medic" and the movie. * The Movie managed to include 84 of the 95 figure-based characters from previous episodes. The 11 not included were Grand Slam, Torpedo, Deep Six, Polly, Frostbite, H.I.S.S. Driver, Viper Pilot, Copperhead, Wild Weasel, Eel, and Lamprey. More than just an appearance There are limits to how far a character can develop if he's just sitting at a conference table or making a few quips during a battle. The real "meaty" roles are spread around pretty well, reflecting a deliberate effort on the part of the writers to give as many Joes as possible their 22 minutes of fame. There were eighteen "stars" who had ten or more major roles, with about the same number of individuals left with only minor speaking parts. (Here, major roles are defined as 10 or more lines in a single episode.) * Never got a chance to shine (no major roles): the neglected speakers, from most total lines to least, are Ripper, Doc, Monkeywrench, Cutter, Stalker, Thrasher, Zandar, Tripwire, Blowtorch, Firefly, Short-Fuze, Scrap-Iron, Zap, Tollbooth, Copperhead, Heavy Metal, and Frostbite. But nearly all of these at least play pivotal roles in one episode or another. * Some Joes are most remembered for their one major role. One-shot characters include Clutch, Flash, Airborne, Thunder, Buzzer, and Wild Weasel, as well as the cartoon-exclusive Sparks. * Quite a few often-seen Joes didn't have as many major roles as you might think they did. There are only two apiece for Breaker, Steeler, Rock 'n Roll, Grunt, Snow Job, Torpedo, Deep Six, Rip Cord, Airtight, Slip-Stream, Low-Light, Cross-Country, Sci-Fi, Major Bludd, and Storm Shadow. * On the other side of things, Cobra Commander had 57 big episodes. Flint (37) edged out Lady Jaye (36), and the other stars were Duke (31 major roles), Destro (29), Scarlett (23), Shipwreck (23), Zartan (17), Baroness (16), and Dr. Mindbender (16). The other Joes with ten or more major roles were Gung-Ho, Hawk, Tomax and Xamot, Roadblock, Alpine, Beach Head, and Serpentor. * "Cobra Stops the World" is the episode to watch for Joes' biggest moments. Six characters speak more lines in this episode than in any other: Deep Six, Torpedo, Ace, Major Bludd, Col. Sharp, and Sparks. You also see more of the H.I.S.S. Drivers here than anywhere else. * Everyone who spoke in the first miniseries had a bigger role later on. * The only characters whose biggest role was in the Movie were those introduced in the Movie. Character designs Whether for copyright issues, creative license, or practicality, all the characters on the show look at least slightly different from the figures they represent. Some of these changes are very subtle, such as the presence or absence of gloves. But nearly half the characters have significant changes, a few so drastic that Joe fans new to the show might have difficulty recognizing who's who. The following are selected examples of major design changes: * Most Joes carried the same rifle (similar to Snow Job's), and all masked Joes except Snake-Eyes showed their faces at least once. * Cobra Commander - vertical white stripe on center top of helmet; crease down center of face mask; light blue shirt collar underneath medium blue jacket, and belt across stomach is often white; black gloves often extend nearly to the elbow; no red stripe on pant legs * Steeler - heavily simplified; blond hair with dark green pants and shorter gold visor; no gloves, and no straps or holster on chest * Ace - black hair; no helmet base, and no helmet except when flying; helmet was white with black airmask and blue goggles; no red trim on uniform; black vest and normal-sized black boots * Wild Bill - light tan hat; black sunglasses; blue shirt with orange closed vest; no gloves; pants were also blue, with brown belt and no leg holsters * Zartan - vest blue, glowing red when Zartan was angry; grey detailing on boots for contrast; gloves extend halfway up the arm * Ripper - yellow leopard-print vest with grenade and knife matching the figure's; gold medallion around neck; glasses almost always silver instead of red; beard less full * Flint - dark green shirt with reddish brown straps; camo on pants consisted of wavy stripes of dark green and reddish brown * Lady Jaye - no hat; dark green gloves and pants, with brown boots; knife strapped to chest on left side, attaching to diagonal chest strap; backpack was a dark green cylindrical quiver filled with wooden javelins * Snake-Eyes, v.2 - colors reversed: uniform dark grey for detail, with jet black straps, belt, and visor slits * Tomax and Xamot's uniforms were switched. * Tollbooth - dark green vest and sleeves; light green gloves, hardhat, and high-collared shirt; wore a white hardhat and red vest in the Movie * Sgt. Slaughter - brown hat, black shirt, green and light brown camo pants, white belt, and brown boots * Slip-Stream - white portions of figure's uniform were light brown * Chuckles - white shirt with thin-petaled yellow and pink flowers; dark blue pants Also worth mentioning are Spirit's red skin, different pants for Bazooka, Mainframe, and Zandar, Snow Serpent's white facemask, the B.A.T.s' red visors, and the blue-tinted transparent goggles for Joes such as Snow Job and Tripwire. Three characters each have two different designs, only one of which resembles the figure. * Airborne - In his speaking roles, brown hair, a dark grey helmet and long-sleeved light blue collared shirt with dark gray diagonal chest strap; shirt had centered vertical orange stripe, with orange on shoulders, wristbands, codpiece, and kneepads; plain black belt with round, silver buckle; light blue pants with grey boots * Cover Girl - In A Real American Hero, had long, blond hair and a green jacket and pants * Torpedo - Wore jeans and a T-shirt when on land. His regular uniform was also distinct: a skin-tight blue-black wet suit without the grey trim of the figure; face usually exposed, with white-rimmed, blue-tinted goggles on forehead, and a white vertical stripe on top of hood. When underwater, had light grey airmask with tube connecting to backpack; no gloves. G.I. Joe Toteboard * Disguises of Zartan: 24, including Cobra Commander, Duke, and Shipwreck * Disguises of the Baroness: 15, including Lady Jaye * Disguises of Zarana: 11 * Disguises of Lady Jaye: 9, including the Baroness * Times Duke is captured by Cobra: 9, including all three opening miniseries * Times Cobra uses gladiatorial arenas to dispose of captives: 5 * Times Cobra preempts TV broadcasts to deliver a message: 12 * Episodes in which Cobra Commander unreasonably blames Destro for his own failures: 10 * Times someone says, "Let's get outta here," or "We've gotta get outta here": 59, 9 times by Flint * Times Serpentor says "This I command": 33 * Times we hear the "Yo Joe" battle cry within an episode: 382 * Episodes with no "Yo Joe" battle cry: 8 Geography Even though he was an "American hero," G.I. Joe fought Cobra all over the world. Cobra apparently moved their central headquarters frequently, and set up smaller temples for specific missions. Over the course of the series, the Joes and Cobras traveled to all the major oceans and every continent except Australia. Asian missions We know from the movie that Cobra ultimately originates from Cobra-La's ice dome in the Himalayas in Central Asia. These mountains were also the site of Cobra's broadcast station in "The Wrong Stuff." The Joes traveled to India in "Jungle Trap" and "Operation Mind Menace," and to the Indian Ocean in "Pit of Vipers." It's unknown where Genghis Khan's tomb is ("ASA"), or whether the mountain K-12 exists ("Operation Mind Menace"), but they would be around this region as well. (Duke says K-12 is in the Himalayas.) Since Vietnam wasn't all that distant a memory in the 1980s, the cartoon writers usually steered clear of Southeast Asia. However, there was a Cobra air attack over Thailand in "Cobra Quake", and a mind-control operation there in "Let's Play Soldier." The events of "Ninja Holiday" took place in the nearby Philippines. The Tienshan Mountains of western China are the resting place of Sun Tzu ("ASA"). This is also the likely location of the fictional City of the Dead, location of one corner of the Pyramid of Darkness. (The actual terra cotta warriors that inspired the city are in central China, east of Xian.) The episode "Cobra Quake" features Hokkaido, Japan and several locations around Tokyo, including Mount Fuji, the Toshogu Shrine, and the Great Buddha in Kamakura. Middle Eastern missions Only four episodes deal with the Middle East. Locales near the Cobra temple in "A Real American Hero" make it appear that its location was in this region, near a mountain/jungle area. Cobra attacked the oil fields of Sheik Ali, possibly in the UAE, in "Cobra Sound Waves." Dusty and Footloose met King Jabal in "Hearts and Cannons," and aliens "abducted" Tomax and Xamot from the Middle Eastern desert in "The Invaders." Pacific/Atlantic Many of the Pacific island locations in the Joe series are fictional. This includes Snake Island from "Lasers in the Night," Cobra Island in the second season, the location of Temple Alpha in "There's No Place Like Springfield," Tanu Island from "A Real American Hero," the Island of No Return in "The Revenge of Cobra," and the islands visited in "Memories of Mara." (The comicbook's Cobra Island was in the Gulf of Mexico.) The Sea of Lost Souls was a concept created for "The Pyramid of Darkness," but "ARAH"'s heavy-water trench was probably the Mariana Trench not far from Guam. Pine Tree Cove and Mondo Tango, both from "Bazooka Saw a Sea Serpent," were most likely in the Atlantic Ocean, since the serpent went on to attack New York City. Dialogue in "Raise the Flagg!" indicates that it was in the Atlantic that the Joes' aircraft carrier sank during "Computer Complications." There are evidently several Terror Dromes, and the central one on Cobra Island is probably in the Atlantic Ocean somewhere, but we cannot be more specific than that. Antarctic missions Antarctica shows up in two episodes. The Joes stumbled upon a Cobra R & R base in Queen Maud Land in "The Viper is Coming." Snow Job and Frostbite chased Firefly near an Antarctic research base in "Eau De Cobra." African missions Cobra had several operations going in Africa over the course of the series. We first visit the continent in "Satellite Down," where Storm Shadow forms an uneasy truce with the Joes to escape a tribe of ape-men. Cobra established a base in Madagascar in "Eau De Cobra," and one of Dr. Mindbender's labs was on the African coast in "In the Presence of Mine Enemies." Egyptian tombs are the subject of two episodes, "The Gods Below" and "ASA" Part 2. The Joes also shut down a Cobra outpost in North Africa in "Sins of Our Fathers." European missions England was apparently a favorite location for the writers, being featured in at least six episodes. Breaker mistakenly beamed the Eiffel Tower to London at the end of "A Real American Hero." We saw the Dreadnoks at work in London in "Lights! Camera! Cobra!," and Firefly hitting a museum there in "Eau De Cobra." The episode "Excalibur" drew on the legend of King Arthur, and Destro's family manor in Scotland was featured in two shows: "Skeletons in the Closet" and "Sins of Our Fathers." Elsewhere in Western Europe, we saw Paris in "A Real American Hero" and "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!," and Serpentor interrupted the Joes' maneuvers in the Netherlands in "My Favorite Things." There were also various missions in and around the Mediterranean in "Spell of the Siren," "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" and "G.I. Joe and the Golden Fleece." Dracula was of apparent interest to the creators of the show. He is first mentioned in "The Phantom Brigade," which is set in Romania's Carpathian Mountains. Two of Dracula's castles appear in "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" and "My Favorite Things," both in connection with Serpentor. The Soviet Union, first seen in "A Real American Hero," was not as big a player as one might expect during the Reagan era. Three times, Russia and its Red Oktober Guard fought Cobra alongside the Joes: in "The Invaders," "The Great Alaskan Land Rush," and "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!" Central and South American missions South America and its Amazon jungle provided many story ideas for the show. In each of the first three miniseries, the continent hosted battles at an exotic (though fictional) location: the Ring of Fire, the Palace of Doom, and the Devil's Playground. Cobra operated a diamond mine in "Cobra Stops the World," and Destro had a jungle lab in "Red Rocket's Glare." We also see South American Cobra bases in "The Funhouse" and "Last Hour to Doomsday." Also south of the U.S. is Montezuma's tomb in the Yucatán, one source of DNA for Serpentor. And the Joes met Owen Van Mark and his daughter in the Bahamas in "The Million Dollar Medic." Domestic missions Most of the Joes' activities took place fairly close to home. In New England, a battle was fought at Dr. Laszlo Vandermeer's farm in "A Real American Hero." Boston was the home of Barbecue's family in "Captives of Cobra," and of the USS Constitution in "Sink the Montana!" Nearby upstate New York was the site of "The Germ"'s events. Cobra attacked West Point (also in New York) in "The Viper is Coming." New York City saw attempted Cobra attacks in "A Real American Hero," "Bazooka Saw a Sea Serpent," and the opening of the movie. We see the Philadelphia Naval Yards in "Sink the Montana!," and Pittsburg is the site of a Joe armor range in "Second Hand Emotions." Washington, DC suffered attacks in "The Revenge of Cobra," "Battle for the Train of Gold," "The Invaders," and "Arise Serpentor Arise," and was also featured in "Operation Mind Menace," "Money to Burn," "The Synthoid Conspiracy" and "The Wrong Stuff." Farther south, the Montana was sunk near Norfolk, Virginia. In "The Rotten Egg," Leatherneck had some adventures at Parris Island, SC, and a nearby Cobra academy. Scarlett's family lived in Atlanta in "Captives of Cobra". Zartan's lair was in the Florida Everglades, not far from Blackwater Prison, and is seen in "The Revenge of Cobra," "Cold Slither," "Arise Serpentor Arise," and "Once Upon a Joe." We also see these swamps in "The Gamesmaster" and "Pit of Vipers." The Cobra oil rig whose explosion sent Duke into a coma in "The Traitor" was in the Gulf of Mexico. Not many Joe adventures took place in the Midwest. At least one Enterprise Tower was located in Chicago, which was attacked in "The Greenhouse Effect." Thunder's home territory was Kentucky; we see his family in Louisville in "Captives of Cobra," and he helped prevent Cobra's theft of gold from Fort Knox. Events in the west include Cobra's purchase of a dude ranch in Texas in "Where the Reptiles Roam," and their attack on Texas City in "The Traitor." Spirit's family was near Taos, New Mexico, according to "Captives of Cobra." This southern area of the Rocky Mountains is also a likely location for the Pit of Chaos, the Cobra-occupied town where Shipwreck was discovered, and the Cobra Temple in "The Revenge of Cobra." Watchdog's Mesa in "Pit of Vipers" may also have been in this part of the country. Also in the Rockies was a Cobra base in "Money to Burn," the opening battle in "An Eye for an Eye," and the Rocky Mountain Chemical Weapons Arsenal from "Twenty Questions" and "The Spy Who Rooked Me." "The Spy Who Rooked Me" opened in Las Vegas, which was also Dusty's hometown, though perhaps not where his mother was living in "The Traitor." The "Cobrathon" took place in Las Vegas or Reno, and its broadcast station was in a nearby pueblo. The crystal incident in "Captives of Cobra" probably took place in the Mojave Desert. California was the home of Roadblock's aunt and uncle in "Red Rocket's Glare," and of Quick Kick's and Shipwreck's families in "Captives of Cobra." A Cobra base hidden in a redwood forest appeared in "Worlds Without End." Aliens threatened San Francisco in "The Invaders," and an island northwest of there was the site of a Cobra hideout in "An Eye for an Eye." Finally, the Joes saw Hollywood in "Lights! Camera! Cobra!" and "Grey Hairs and Growing Pains," and Madam Versailles' estate in the latter episode was probably in one of Los Angeles' wealthier neighborhoods. The Joes made several trips to Alaska. The Sea of Ice near the Arctic Circle in "A Real American Hero" was evidently there (or perhaps in Canada). The Alaksa pipeline was attacked in "Spell of the Siren" and "The Invaders." Cobra's manipulation of the Aurora Borealis took place here in "Haul Down the Heavens," as did the events of "The Great Alaskan Land Rush." We also saw the Bering Sea and its Aleutian Islands in "Not a Ghost of a Chance." Other arctic adventures may have taken place in Canada or Greenland, such as the Roof of the World in "The Revenge of Cobra," the Mountain of Glass from "The Pyramid of Darkness," the Cobra base in "The Gamesmaster, and the Arctic Environmental Research Base and the tropodome in "Iceberg Goes South." Several US locations are fictional or unspecified, such as Keystone City in Cobra C.L.A.W.s Are Coming to Town," Enterprise City in "The Pyramid of Darkness," the cities featured in "Cobra's Candidate" and "The Greenhouse Effect," and the Worldwide Defense Center in "Countdown for Zartan." Where is G.I. Joe Headquarters? All we can say for certain is that the HQ is somewhere in the United States. The landscape surrounding the base in various episodes suggest desert, low mountains, and woods. There are also indications that the base is near the coast. However, the episodes provide us with two sets of conflicting information as to which coast is nearby. "Words Without End" gives strong hints headquarters is in California. Early scenes feature the Golden Gate Bridge and redwoods. From there the Joes travel on foot and by motorcycle to HQ. Lady Jaye's team flies over Mt. Rushmore (in South Dakota) on its way to Washington, D.C. Subsequent episodes seem to support a coastal setting. In "Flint's Vacation," we are told that Pleasant Cove is "on the coast" within a couple hours from headquarters by car. The terrain seems closer to California's than to anywhere on the East Coast. And in "The Most Dangerous Thing in the World," headquarters is very close to a seaside resort with palm trees. However, in that episode, the map at headquarters shows the ocean on the right, so that we would expect headquarters to be on the East Coast (perhaps Georgia or Florida). In "Sink the Montana!," the Joes move quickly back and forth between headquarters and events in Philadelphia and Boston. And in "Into Your Tent I Will Silently Creep," Cross-Country leaves HQ on foot to a Cobra base where a river sweeps him out to sea. He flags down a Polish cargo ship, which is much more likely to have business in the Atlantic than in the Pacific. The most specific indication of where Joe base is comes in "Grey Hairs and Growing Pains," when Beach Head states that Hollywood is "three thousand miles from headquarters." Unfortunately, even New England isn't quite that far from LA, so he must be exaggerating. But if headquarters were in California it is difficult to know what to make of Beach Head's statement. One other odd piece of evidence is that in "The Million Dollar Medic," Lifeline and Bree leave HQ heading northwest to a ski lodge in the Rockies. Only with great difficulty can one get to the Rockies flying northwest from California, and departure from somewhere like Florida would leave open too many possibilities for Bree's father to surmise that they were headed toward the Rockies. It seems the writer might have thought headquarters was somewhere in the Midwest. But of course, this contradicts the preponderance of information that suggests that HQ is near the ocean. Your original inclination may be to place Joe Headquarters in northern California, dismissing the second-season evidence. However, the "Worlds Without End" two-parter is the only episode that indicates a western location, and even that evidence is only suggestive. The second-season evidence is more specific, however this is not a settled issue by any means. One alternative solution is to propose a phantom headquarters on the East Coast whose existence is unknown to Cobra, with any Cobra attacks or infiltrations taking place at the western base. Cast * Charlie Adler - Low-Light * Jack Angel - Wet Suit * Liz Aubrey - Cover Girl * Jackson Beck - Narrator * Michael Bell - Blowtorch, Clutch, Duke, Lift Ticket, Major Bludd, Scrap-Iron, Tollbooth, Xamot * Gregg Berger - Colonel Brekhov, Cutter, Firefly, Rip Cord, Sparks, Spirit * Susan Blu - * Arthur Burghardt - Destro, Iceberg, Stalker * Wally Burr - * Corey Burton - Tomax, Lt. Clay Moore * William Callaway - Beach Head * François Chau - Quick Kick * Peter Cullen - Airborne, Zandar * Brian Cummings - Doctor Mindbender * Christian Czingland - * Pat Fraley - Ace, Airtight, Wild Weasel * Hank Garret - Dial Tone * Richard Gautier - Serpentor * Ed Gilbert - General Hawk * Dan Gilvezan - Slip Stream * Barbara Goodson- * Dave Hall - Colonel Sharp * Johnny Haymer - * Zack Hoffman - Zartan * Kene Holliday - Roadblock * John Hostetter - Bazooka * Jerry Houser - Sci-Fi * Buster Jones - Doc, Zap * Jimmy Keegan - * Chris Latta - Breaker, Cobra Commander, Frostbite, Gung-Ho, Ripper, Steeler, Horrorshow * Hap Lawrence - * Patricia Lentz - * Ketty Lester - Satin * Loren Lester - Barbecue * Morgan Lofting - Baroness * Mona Marshall - * Chuck McCann - Leatherneck * Michael McConnohie - Cross Country * Mary McDonald-Lewis - Lady Jaye * David Mendenhall - * Don Messick - * Bill Morey - Mutt, Recondo * Rob Paulsen - Snow Job, Tripwire * Patrick Pinney - Mainframe * Lisa Raggio - Zarana * Bill Ratner - Flint * Hal Rayle - Admiral Ledger, Deep Six * Bob Remus - Sgt. Slaughter * Neil Ross - Buzzer, Dusty, Heavy Metal, Monkeywrench, Shipwreck, Thunder * Dan Roth - Grunt * Will Ryan - Footloose, Rock 'n Roll * Marilyn Schreffler - * Ted Schwartz - Thrasher * John Stephenson - General Flagg * B.J. Ward - Scarlett * Lee Weaver - Alpine * Frank Welker - Copperhead, Flash, Freedom, Junkyard, Polly, Short-Fuse, Timber, Torch, Wild-Bill, Rock 'n Roll (ep. 10) * Stan Wojno - Lifeline * Michael Yama - Torpedo * Keone Young - Storm Shadow Crew * Wally Burr - Voice Director * Don Jurwich - Voice Director DVD Releases Kid Rhino (US) *'G.I. Joe Season 1 Part 1' *'G.I. Joe Season 2 Part 2' *'G.I. Joe Season 2 Part 1' Shout! Factory In 2009, Shout Factory got the license to release new DVDs, and began over from the start. *'G.I. Joe A Real American Hero Season 1.1' :Contains all episodes between "The Cobra Strikes" and "The Funhouse" on four discs. Special features include the three-part "Looking Back with writer Ron Friedman," several Knowing Is Half the Battle PSAs, Hasbro's 1963 Toy Fair presentation and Real American Hero toy commercials.Pop Quiz, Hotshot! » Blog Archive » Revisit animated series before G.I. Joe hits theaters References Category:Television series Category:Sunbow episodes Category:Continuities Category:Generation 1 Category:Lists